Best case to prevent pitting and protect from scratches? Unibody macbook 13.3 inch late 2008

Alright guys, I worked my off to get this laptop. So I want to protect it as much as I can for as long as I can. I realize that since this is aluminum, it may experience corrosive pitting if I'm not careful.

SO, what case is the best to prevent this and to keep scratches off? I dont care if it changes the look, just give me the best one!

Another question, how are u supposed to pull out the magsafe anyway? Everytime I try to take it out, it always feels like the edge is going to scratch near the ports

 

Don't worry too much. It's not that easy for the cover to be damaged like that.
Buy a sleeve, some kind of palmrest protection and you're good to go.

 

is the invisibleSHIELD worth the hefty cost?

 

you will probably end up doing for damage with one of the plastic hard cases, I don't recommend anything attaching to the computer itself, especially anything that clips on or uses adhesive, so basically nothing.

the aluminum is anodized, as in, it is a very strong finish, from the look and feel of it, stronger than the older model macbook pro's it seems as if it is a higher quality material overall.

when you travel, use a good protective case, something with a built in sleeve. and don't use a metal wrist watch scraping against the aluminum.

 

Although aluminum is pretty durable I got the black satin Speck case for mine and I like the protection it provides, it does however detract from the good looks of the MB.

 

Personally all I have ever used are the sleeves from WaterField Design.
They are custom made for the Apple Hardware (MacBook /Pro /Air etc.) very durable (I still have the one I bought some 8 years ago I believe) and the protect the Hardware very well.

I always buy the ones with flaps for some extra protection but that's it.

You can find them at sfbags.com (They operate from San Francisco)
Good luck

 

Speck makes a nice plastic shield.

 

I have a Speck case for my 17" MBP and it does what its supposed to do - protect my 'Book. If you get one, just be sure to take it off periodically to clean out any dust or debris that may have gotten into the case.

 

I'm considering getting the Invisible Shield for my MBP, and am wondering the same thing. I'm not looking forward to the process of putting it on though.

 

I would really reccomend the Invisible Shield, because it saved my iPod from many scratches and nicks that would have damaged it without the Shield. I would really get one of those right now if I had the money, but unfortunately I'm low on cash from the holiday season. . And the process of putting one of these on is a pain. It's very tedious to get it on there the way you want it. That's the only drawback to the Invisible Shield.

 

Invisible shield is good for protecting your macbook from scratch but I don't like its glossy look. Also, applying the shield is very challenging

As I said, don't worry too much. Nothing protects your notebook better than careful usage behaviors.

 

Yeah, the Invisible Shield is REALLY challenging to put on, it took me 45 minutes to put the Invisible Shield on my Ipod Touch. Now I really don't want to know how long it would take me to put one onto my MB.

 

Same here, and I still had air bubbles on the back. I put on a rubber Incase to cover them up .

 

Yeah, I still have some air bubbles near the top on the back that I just can't get rid of. I bought a Belkin Leather case a while back before i I got the Invisible shield, and now I am using the Leather case to cover up the air bubbles and give it a little extra padding.

 

Putting an Invisible Shield (or Best Skins Ever which is cheaper) on a MacBook is MUCH easier than an iPod/iPhone. The pieces are much larger and easier to handle.

The best way is to fill a cookie sheet with water and detergent. The larger area makes it easier to get each piece wet. I usually take a small towel and place it along each edge of the shield as I use a credit card to squeeze the excess water out.

I've put one on three different MacBooks including a Black MacBook, MacBook Air, and my new Unibody MacBook and would recommend one to ANYONE who is looking to protect their investment.

 

Thanks for letting us know. I think I might go with the Invisible Shield.

 

Thanks for the info, Khris!

 

I've heard great things about the Invisible Shield, although I don't own one myself. I just take care with my MacBook Pro and wipe it down when I am done using it and it still looks like new. You might also want to get a Neoprene sleeve to keep it in as a simple measure of protection.

 

Neoprene is a good solution too. I put my MB into a neoprene sleeve inside my Targus backpack to make sure it doesn't get dinged up or scratched while I'm on the run.

 

The Invisible Shield is definitely worth the investment. I have one on my MacBook.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3156911#post3156911

 

+1 for the Invisible Shield!

 

So you're supposed to put these wet things on your brand new macbook? O_O

 

Well it comes with a solution that you put on the Shield itself, and that's what makes it applicable to your notebook.

 

The solution is just water. Zagg was just having a 30% holiday sale, but unfortunately it has ended. Here is a 20% off coupon - r3fresh20

 

Hey thanks! :]

how long does that coupon last btw? Short on cash atm

 

Sure, why not. It hasn't harmed my notebook as far as I'm concerned.

 

Speck hard case works well on my MBP.

 

Maybe I'm crazy, but this is just something I don't really think about. I mean, it's anodized aluminum. It's pretty durable. Besides, I pay extra for strong laptops so that I specifically don't have to worry about these things. Otherwise, I would just buy a cheaper plastic laptop like my parents' HP.

Also, if it makes you feel any better, my 2.5 year old Dell has an aluminum lid, and it has seen plenty of action with only minor scratches and no pitting.

 

Has any review website tested the Macbook's durability? The ThinkPad rollcages get tested every now and then, would be interesting to see someone stand on a Macbook, or at least try to scratch it with zippers and such. Would give a good sense of how much protection it needs.

 

My Macbook is pretty durable. When I dragged my AC-plug over my MB by accident, it didn't even leave a mark. The lid is very strong also. When you push in the back, it doesn't harm your screen at all, even if the screen is connected to the lid. Overall, it's been very durable in the time that I've had it.

 

Yes, and that's why I said that I put a towel right along the edge of the skin as I'm squeezing the water out. The towel soaks up the water right away and nothing else gets wet.

I've done this on 3 MacBooks now and have never had a problem yet.

It's not "just" water. Their solution does have some other ingredients in it, and it's best to actually use some dish soap in the water which makes positioning the skin easier compared to using just water.

Mix the dish soap in your water first and then leave it for 5-10 minutes to let the bubbles disappear. If you put your skin in the water with bubbles, they'll end up transferring over to your MacBook.

Best Skins Ever is also cheaper that buying an authentic "Invisible Shield" and they're exactly the same thing.

 

buy a protective shell and wot i did with my whitebook was bought this clear sticky film on a roll and cut out bits for the palm rest,track pad,clicker and i even cut out bits for each key. cause with the new alum they have the black keyboard and in a month or so of use you will notice they will start to look abit glossy cause of the greese from ur fingers,it lookt that way on my hp laptop and once i notice that i didnt want it anymore lol.

you could prob get a protector for teh screen itself aswell.

 

I dont think that the pitting is realy an issue with the newer laptops anymore. I havnt heard anyone have any pitting in a long time.

Although, scratches are another matter. I had a speck hardcase, and never did like it, when they came out with the new incase ones, I bought one right away. Both have saved my mbp countless times.

Although, like someone else said you should take it off everynow and again, and clean off the laptop. Stuff does get inbetween.

I guess my laptop gets more dinged around, then scratches, so the hardcase is really worth it to me.

 

I hear that the best skins ever arent quite as durable or as "sticky" as the invisible shield. Though on the plus side, I read that the best skins ever also covers the trackpad and the side of the notebook near the ports. Is this true?

 

What's corrosive pitting?

My SR MacBook Pro had the anodization come off above the CD drive after less than a year - that looks pretty ugly as you can now see the bare aluminium in this spot, which is dark grey. It looks like the silver color came off in that spot. I seem to have pretty corrosive hands...

 

Pitting looks like the pictures int he following links

http://www.imswitching.com/
http://beszeljukmac.com/index.php/weblog/comments/tovabb_bvuelt_az_apple_premium_reseller_halozat_magyarorszagon/(scroll down)

like i said, i havn't heard of anyone having this problem in a long time. i think apple fixed this problem a while ago.

 

The BSE skins are quite "sticky" when you go to remove then (I've pulled one off an iPhone).

The BSE skins cover everything except the actual ports and DVD drive locations on the new MacBooks (including trackpad and wrist rests).

 

Do you mean it covers around the ports? As in not the port itself but the outside edge around the ports?

I got a 50% off coupon for InivisibleShield, so now they are the exact same price. I want one which will cover more of my computer and protect it better.

 

I purchased an Invisible Shield for my 13" Macbook. I have one on my iPhone and it works a treat. The one for my Macbook has yet to arrive though.

I would not buy into the fallacy that the anodizing on the Macbook is so great. I know two others who own the 13" aluminum macbook and both of them have scratches in one place or another (palmrest and lid). Also, the demo unit at Best Buy looked terrible (yea, I know, but still). It shows that they really can't take a beating.

You'd rather protect the thing upfront instead of finding out the hard way and cursing yourself.

 

BSE is not less sticky like some people have mentioned. It is also much much cheaper than IS.

 

No, I mean that it doesn't cover the ports at all. There are two pieces that protect the front edge. They start from in the middle of the indent where you open the lid and wrap around the front corners stopping just before the Kensington lock slot on the left, and just before the DVD drive on the right. There are then two smaller pieces which cover each back corner, and another one for the black spot along the lid edge.

There is one solid piece for the top, and three for the bottom (main body, battery cover, and flip up lever).

 

Anyone know if there's an option for the newest non removable battery macbooks yet?

 

Invisible shield was pretty easy to apply to my 15" UMbp. This was my first time applying anything like this and it took me about 20 minutes, no air bubbles or anything. The hardest part was applying it on the back part matching up the black foots and the screw holes. What i did was apply alot of the liquid solution onto the adhesive side of the invisible shield, and then when I put it on the mbp It was wet enough that i could slide it around with my palms to position it right, instead of having to take it off again and trying to match it.